Cities across the country have been given a deadline extension to apply for federal money to support manufacturing. Dayton and Cincinnati are filing a joint application for the funds.
Ten federal agencies will distribute $1.3 billion dollars to 12 designated ‘manufacturing communities’ nationwide.
Dayton, Cincinnati, Montgomery County and the Dayton Development Coalition are all collaborating on regional application. The federal program is called "Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership."
Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley welcomes the new deadline of April 14th.
"When Cincinnati came on, we were already working on a smaller application that wasn't as strong - definitely not as strong without Cincinnati," she said, "which really helped us get support letters from our manufacturers and folks, and universities across the region."
The regional approach is somewhat new for cities that may have seen each other as competition in the past.
Whaley believes Dayton has "a lot of connectivity with Cincinnati." Adding that, "We're going to be applying for aerospace manufacturing, and creating that supply chain up and down 75 is gonna be key for Dayton."
Companies and city governments within the 'manufacturing communities' that are chosen will then be able apply for project-specific funds.
